


Check To The Heart

by Promarvelfangirl (ProMarvelFanGirl)



Category: Captain - Fandom, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hockey, F/M, Fluff, rom com
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2017-09-21
Packaged: 2018-12-02 11:52:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 17,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11508861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProMarvelFanGirl/pseuds/Promarvelfangirl
Summary: You are the daughter of one of the greatest hockey players to ever play the game, now as owner of the Avengers, he is bringing your childhood crush Bucky Barnes to the team.  The minute he sees you in your father’s office, you can tell by the smirk on his face he hadn’t forgot about your crush either.  This is going to be fun.





	1. Chapter 1

You sit in the big leather chair in front of your father’s desk staring at all his numerous awards.   Your dad was one of the top 10 players of his generation,  he was now the current owner of the Avengers, one of the top NHL teams in the country.  You were eventually going to take over the team.  You had been working with the team for two years and had great relationships with the team and staff.

 You just wanted to keep your father’s legacy alive.  You were his only child and though you had played hockey as a kid, it was never your long term goal.  You chose to go to business school.   You loved the sport and knew that your future was the team.  

 Your father had called you in to go over some changes he was making to the team.  You were in the process of putting your feet on his desk, when your dad walks in grumbling, “Get your feet off my desk.”

 “Sure thing Daddy-o, so what’s going on?”  Your dad gives you a wide smile, you didn’t like that smile.  That was the smile he gave you when he caught you sneaking in after your curfew.

 “Well I signed someone today.  He is gonna help turn the team around.  He’s a good guy and one hell of a hockey player.”  Your dad was practically hopping in his chair with excitement.

 Feeding off his energy you are getting just as excited. “Oh my God! Did you get Matt Murdock?!”

 “No! Better…James Barnes!”  Your dad looked so pleased with himself.   All you can do is look at him in shock.  Bucky.  Of all the players in the world your dad had to choose your childhood crush and ex friend.

 You walk through the halls of the offices, with a look of determination on your face.  You look at your watch, practice finished 5 minutes ago, he wouldn’t be able to run.  You slam open the door to the locker room, not bothering to knock or announce yourself.   

 You hear a chorus of “What the hell?”  “Oh My God!” and “You can’t be here!” “Y/n! Come on! SERIOUSLY?!”

 Ignoring them all, you set your sights on the shirtless Captain sitting in his stall, only clad in jeans, drying his hair.  You take aim and smack him repeatedly in the chest with both hands. “WHAT THE HELL ROGERS!  HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME!?”

Steve threw up his hands blocking your blows that did nothing to him.  “Y/N!  STOP!”  

 You let out a slight scream and leave the locker room in a flourish.  The guys all turn to their Captain with confused looks.   Steve just gave them a shrug and finished dressing himself.  He’d talk to you later, after you calmed down of course.

* * *

 Sitting in your office, you focus on the projections for the year in front of you.   If the boys managed to deliver a good season, ticket sales would spike.  You had tons of plans for marketing the team.  A slight cough draws your attention, you look up to find Steve leaning against the door frame.

 “I just talked to your dad.”  You let out a ‘humpf’ and set your papers aside.  You motion for him to take a seat in the plush chair in front of you.

 “I know he is a good player, a great player even!  He’s good looking and he will bring in more viewers, as much as I hate to admit it.   Ugh but why here!?”

 “Y/n, come on.  You know your dad wouldn’t have brought him here if it wasn’t good for the team.  Like you said, he’s a great player, will bring people in, and the best part is he can deal with your moods.”  Steve gave you a grin as he spoke.

 “If you weren’t my oldest and dearest friend, I would get you thrown off this team.”  You smile back at him, while he openly laughs at you.

You, Steve, and Bucky, had been best friends growing up.  You played in a pee wee league together, coached by your dad.  Then as you got older, you went to highschool together, then you all headed off to college.   The boys, to play hockey and you to study sports management and business.

You had been the best of friends, until you weren’t.  You and Steve stayed close, while Bucky went off to play with the Avenger’s rival team Hydra for a few years.  Steve studied you as you were clearly reminiscing about your past.  It finally dawned on him what you had said.

“So you think he’s good looking?”  You look up at his smirking face with a look of shock.  Before you could answer however, a voice cut you off.

“You think I’m good lookin’ sweetheart?  Didn’t know you still cared.”  You looked up in disbelief, not knowing what to say.  You couldn’t believe this was happening.  You look to Steve for help, only to see him standing up to embrace his  _other_  best friend.

“Ready to kick some ass out there like the old times?”  Steve asked clapping Bucky on the back.  Bucky nodded his agreement before shooting you another grin and winking at you.

“Your dad said to remind you it is your responsibility to show new players around.”  You roll your eyes and get up ignoring Steve’s snickering.

“Have fun you two.”  You watch as Steve walks out of your office, undoubtedly heading home for the day.

* * *

As the two of you walk down the hall toward the training rooms, you notice Bucky staring at you off and on in the few minutes it takes to get down to the training area.

“What?!”  You finally snap as you reach the doors to the workout room.  Bucky turns to you, giving you the same smile he used to give you when you were younger.

“I think you’re good lookin’ to sweetheart.  You seein’ anyone?”  He gives you sly grin, leaning toward you, waiting for your answer.

“No I’m not.”  You have no idea what made you answer, or why the hell you told the truth.  But you regretted it immediately when you saw his grin widen.

“Wanna be?”


	2. Chapter 2

_Hockey terms:_

_NHL - National Hockey League_

_Drop Gloves- hockey fight - Players throw off their gloves and start fighting, fighting in hockey is actually a thing.  A brilliant, amazing, thing._

_Boards: walls around the rink._

_Stanley Cup:  the greatest trophy in sports._

* * *

 “Wanna be?”

You don’t let your surprise show at his words.  Fixing Bucky with a smirk you look him up and down before saying, “Why have some hot friends for me?”

Bucky didn’t do as well hiding the surprise on his face,  you give him a wink and turn to walk back to your office.  As far as you were concerned he could show himself around.  You could deal with your father if he pitched a fuss.  Before you had made it a few steps away Bucky’s humor filled voice caused you to falter just a bit, “Looks like you still have those sharp teeth behind that pretty smile.”

You shut the door to your office and lean against it rubbing your face with your hands.  This was the last thing you needed.  When you were kids, the three of you were inseparable.  You had met and became quick friends.  Steve, who believe it or not was smaller than Bucky at that time, had heard you being harassed by an older boy, Brock Rumlow, he had told you girls couldn’t play hockey.  Steve not liking a boy picking on a girl, skated up to him pushing him away from you.  When Bucky saw Brock punch Steve, all bets were off.  The three boys and you dropped the gloves.  What resulted was a black eye for each boy and a missing front tooth for you, and what seemed like a lifelong bond.  

Stupid Bucky, stupid Steve, stupid memories.  You shake yourself from the memory and collect your things and head home for the evening, the season was going to start soon and you had tons to do.

The next day found you sitting in the stands of the arena typing away on your tablet while the boys practiced.  You were so focused you failed to see Bucky’s attempts at getting your attention.

After going through a few plays, Coach Coulson, told everyone to take a break.  Bucky leaned against the boards, watching you as he took a drink from his water bottle.  Clint, one of the veterans on the team let out a chuckle at Bucky’s focused gaze. “Y/n. She’s the owner’s daughter, she’s a total ice queen, colder than the ice we’re skating on.  You won’t get her attention, so don’t even try kid.”

“Bet I can unfreeze her.”  Bucky looked at Clint with a slight gleam in his eye.  If anyone could push your buttons it was him.

“I’ll take that bet.  But you should know Cap doesn’t like anyone messing with her.”  Clint gestured to Steve who was taking a few laps around the rink.

“I think I’ll be alright.”  Bucky gave Clint a smirk and skated to the net where the pucks were clustered around from another drill.  Taking one he looped around the net a few times before taking aim and shooting a slap shot towards the glass where you were sitting.

The puck hit the glass with a loud crack and you look up in shock.  You immediately meet the eye’s of Bucky who fixed you with a cheeky smile.  He blew you a kiss before looking back at Clint, who looked mildly impressed.  Looking back to where you had been sitting, his smile turned to a frown when he realized you had left.  Before Clint could even laugh at him, Coach Coulson told the guys to hit the showers then head to the conference room for a meeting. 

On the way to meeting Clint had told Steve about what Bucky had done.  Clint had expected Steve to get annoyed, but he just laughed.  Bucky and Steve then proceeded to fill Clint into the history the three of you had.

The entire team was huddled around the large conference tables when you arrived in the room.  Gone was your usual business attire, a simple pair of jeans and Avenger’s t-shirt replaced them.

“Okay guys, for the start of the season we have a lot going on.  First thing we are going to do is have a bake sale.  As tradition all the items will be made by the wives and girlfriends of the players and coaching staff.   So as for you single guys I need to know if you have someone who will be helping you or if you’re giving me the cash to do it for you.”  You smile at the boys and open the tote bag you brought with you and begin handing out stacks of what looked like greeting cards. 

“These are from the children’s hospital, they’re thank you cards for the visit we had last month.  We’re planning another trip around Christmas so be ready.  If you have any questions about the bake sale let me know.”  You finish speaking and pick up your tablet, marking some items off your on going to do list. 

Steve, Clint, and Bucky made their way over to you, Clint was the first to speak up, “Y/n I take it Natasha has already handled everything on my end?”

You give him a laugh, “Of course!  I couldn’t do this without her.  She promised she’d make that coffee cake everyone loves.   Steve any idea what Peggy’s making?”

Steve gave a shrug, “You know Peg, she will make my favorite even though I tell her not to.   I think she enjoys torturing me, since she knows I can’t eat sweets during season.”

You laugh and give him a nod.  You set your sights on Bucky next and raise an eyebrow at him. “Who do I need to call about your dessert Barnes.”

Bucky winced at the way you said ‘Barnes’, but fixed you with a smile nevertheless, “I’m a bachelor sweetheart, why don’t you make those cake lollipops things you made for my birthday a few years ago? I was thinkin’ we could have dinner at my place and you could show me how to make ‘em.”

“Nice try Barnes, I’ll need the cash by the end of the week.  And for the record, I don’t date hockey players.”  You give Clint and Steve a small smile and wave, before collecting your things and sweeping out of the room.

Steve shakes his head at Bucky’s shocked expression. “She’s doesn’t date hockey players?  That’s a lie.  She only dates hockey players!  Wasn’t she the one who said she would only date a guy that had a chance of winning the Stanley Cup?”

Steve shakes his head slightly, “That was the old Y/n, she quit dating hockey players after she broke up with Grant Ward a year ago.”

It was Steve’s turn to be shocked.  He could feel the anger radiating off of Bucky, “That was her?!”


	3. Chapter 3

_“That was her?!”_

Steve took in Bucky’s face that was contorting with rage.  “Who was her?  What are you talking about?”

Everyone had cleared out of the room at this point and it was just Steve and Bucky.   Bucky began pacing the room, clenching his fist and trying to control his breathing.  “Buck?”

“About a year ago, Ward met this girl, he started dating her, he never brought her around, but it was well known he was seeing her.  He said she was sweet and innocent.  All of us thought this girl had settled him down.   Turns out he was bringing other girls to games and screwing them after.   He used this girl to make his image look good he never mentioned a name though, he had her making his lunch and he talked about her horribly.  If I would have known…”  Bucky trailed off as he finally sat down and put his head in his hands. 

Steve could tell Bucky was beating himself up over this.  “You didn’t know Buck.  I know that if you did, you would have done something.  This isn’t your fault.”

“The next game, he’s dead. Ward’s done.”  Bucky had a look of determination in his eyes.

“What do you want from her?  You keep flirting with her, more than normal for even you.”  Steve asked finally unable to hold back.

Bucky rubbed his face, “I miss her.  The three of us were always together, and then we weren’t.  You and me drifted apart, but stayed in touch.  With her it was like one day she was there and the next she was gone.”

“Flirting with her isn’t going to get her back as a friend Buck.” 

“What if I want her more than a friend?  I am so sick of dating the same girls.  I want someone like Y/n.   She isn’t like them.  She’s Y/n.”  Steve looked at Bucky in shock, he knew he had feelings for Y/n before in high school, but now…that was new.

“Buck why don’t you try being her friend first.  Cause to be honest, I don’t think you have a chance at this point.”

Bucky gave Steve a grim smile and nodded his head, “Come on let’s get outta here.”

Bucky got up and waved Steve on, “You go, I am going to the gym, calm down a bit.”

Steve left, patting his friend on the shoulder.  Bucky gave him a small smile, after waiting till Steve had walked out of sight, Bucky headed the opposite way of the gym, upstairs toward your office. 

* * *

Sitting in your chair, you focus on the laptop in front of you, you were working on a poster for college night.  A soft knock on your door had you mumbling a distracted “Come in”

Typing a final thought, you look up to see who is in your office.  Seeing an awkward looking Bucky in front of you, you gesture for him to have a seat.  He sits and you study him for a moment.  “What do you want Barnes?”

He winces a bit, “I wanted to apologize to you. I’ll stop teasing and flirting with you.  I just…I just wanted to be your friend again.  That’s how I remember us.  I guess I didn’t realize you had changed.”

You see sincerity in his eyes, and choose to believe him.  “We can try.  I know I’ve been acting…bitchy.”

Bucky lets out a laugh at your words, “James…I just…I felt like after college you abandoned me and Steve.  Then I realized you didn’t abandon Steve, you just abandoned me.”

Bucky’s smile faded as you spoke, he watched as pain crossed your face.  He wanted to walk over to you and give you a hug, but he knew you wouldn’t like that. You called him James though, that was progress.

“You quit talking to me.  I sent you texts, invited you to games.   You never came.”  Bucky knew he didn’t treat you the greatest but he wouldn’t take the full blame.

“No you didn’t!  If you did, I would’ve… Bucky the last time we talked, I told you I had feelings for you and you told me you had to think about everything.  I gave you space and then I found out you got picked up by Hydra, and we never spoke again.”  He could hear your voice quiver as you spoke.  He knew you were holding in tears, you hated feeling weak. 

“Y/n…When I went to Hydra, they told me I would be Captain of the team.  I couldn’t lose focus.  My first season I didn’t have a phone or anything.  I slept, ate, and breathed hockey.  They made me sign a team agreement that I couldn’t have a girlfriend or any type of distraction.  If you would have been around I wouldn’t have been able to focus.  I’m so sorry.  I should have found a way to tell you, to talk to you.” You sit in silence taking in everything he said.  Bucky wiped his now sweaty palms on his pants, and began to stand, it was obvious things would never be like they were before. 

“Wait.”  You took a deep breath and looked at your hands, Bucky stopped his movements watching you carefully. 

“I’m sorry too,  we can try.”  You finally look up at Bucky.  He gives you a bright smile and turns to leave you to your work.  

Before he walks out of the room, your voice stops him, “Six o’clock on Friday.”

Turning towards you again, he gives you a confused look, “What?”

“I’ll be at your house at 6 on Friday, we can make the cake pops then.”  Bucky’s smile gets even bigger.  It wasn’t much, but he would take it.


	4. Chapter 4

You knocked on Bucky’s door at exactly 6 pm on Friday as promised.  Taking a deep breath, you took a quick moment to compose yourself.  You had fought with yourself every day leading up to this moment.  Bucky had kept his promise and quit flirting with you.  He did however make an effort to stop in your office after practice everyday, to have a bit of chit chat before he left allowing you both to catch up with each other.  You were going to help him bake then you would leave.  You couldn’t help but start to let him back into your life. Steve and your father were no help, when you approached both of them for advice.  

Steve had been acting weird since you had the meeting with the team, he was constantly asking if you were okay, and giving you this sad puppy expression. It was frankly driving you crazy.  When you approached your father, he had looked at you with a knowing smile, and winked at you.  You had told him you would do this for any of the guys on the team, but as far as your father was concerned, you and James were going to be together.  You had rolled your eyes at that, if he was lucky he would end up a friend. You were just going to help him bake then you would leave.

Bucky answered the door almost immediately, giving you no time to turn and run like you wanted to.  He wore a big smile when he opened the door, allowing you to walk into his large apartment.  Taking the huge grocery bags out of your hands, he began talking quickly.

“I really hope I have everything we’ll need.  My mom stocked pretty much everything in the kitchen, so we should be set.  I told her you were helping me and she said to tell you hi.”  You take in the living room, everything new and modern except for one thing.  You couldn’t help but smile a bit as you notice the worn brown leather couch placed in front of the tv. 

“Is that-”  You begin, only to be cut off by Bucky who comes to stand beside you. 

“Yep!  I told ma she couldn’t toss it.  She wanted too of course.  Fought me tooth and nail on it.  I just couldn’t get rid of it.  We had so many good memories on that couch.”  Bucky smiles as the memories come flooding into his mind. You laugh and make your way to the couch running your hand gently over the soft leather.  

“The hours the three of us spent on this thing.  Between the video games and movies, and all the hockey games!”  Rubbing your hand on the couch again you smile at Bucky.

“I had my first kiss on this couch.”  You look down smiling a bit at the memory of you, you had just watched the Avenger’s win the Stanley Cup, you were so happy, you grabbed the boy to your left and smacked a big ole kiss right on his lips. 

“I know, I didn’t stop talking about it for days.  The prettiest girl in school kisses you, you don’t keep that to yourself.”  Bucky gives you a soft smile, his eyes looking at your form fondly.

It was as if something in the air snapped as Bucky spoke.  You drop the smile from your face and clear your throat,  heading to the kitchen which you could see behind Bucky.  “We should get started making the cake pops.”

Bucky couldn’t help but feel the little bit of hope he had seep out of him, you had been making progress.  You hadn’t called him Barnes once this week, things were getting better.  He followed you into the kitchen nevertheless, and watched as you set out all the ingredients and turned to him, “So first thing we have to do is bake some cakes.”

You both worked in silence while making the vanilla cakes.   Placing them in the oven, you set the oven timer and turn to look at Bucky.  You forgot about this part. The waiting.  You couldn’t just sit in silence for 30 minutes.  You bite your lip thinking of something to say.   

“So…Can I talk to you about something?”  You could tell that Bucky was feeling just as awkward as you, which made you feel a bit better.  You had so much to say to him, but not knowing where to start and fear kept you silent. 

You nod and he leads you to the couch once more.  You make a point to sit on the opposite end from him.  It would be too much to sit in your usual spot in the middle. 

“I want to apologize to you Y/n.  I didn’t know you were the girl that Ward was seeing.  If I had known I would’ve told you.   I would’ve kicked his ass.  I know what he did to you, as far as me and Steve are concerned it won’t ever happen again.  I know I’m not your favorite person right now.  But I won’t let anyone hurt you like that again.”  The sincerity in Bucky’s eyes had yours filling with tears, so it was true everyone on Hydra knew what Ward was doing to you. 

You let out a sad laugh moving a bit closer to him, “So I take it that’s why Steve has been asking if I am okay about every 30 seconds?  You didn’t know James.  I don’t blame you for that.”

“I just wish I was there to protect you, or warn you.”  You take in his pained expression and move to the center seat.  It was obvious that he was trying, if he was making an effort than so would you.   

“I’m a big girl, I don’t need you, or Steve for that matter, protecting me anymore.”  You give him a smile.  He gave you a tight smile in return, before noticing how close you were.  Before he could speak again, the oven timer went off. He smiles and offers his hand to you, taking his hand in yours, you allow him to help you off the couch.

While letting the cakes cool and you both crumble them, you spend time catching up on both of your families.  Next you melt the chocolate to dip the cake pops in.  After showing Bucky how to cover them with chocolate, you turn to start decorating as he dipped.  You worked in a comfortable silence, until you felt a bit of chocolate hit your arm. 

“Did you just flick chocolate on me?”  You wipe your arm off giving Bucky a disapproving stare. 

“Of course not!  Why would I do that?  I am trying to get ya to be my friend again.”  He never met your eyes as he spoke, and continued to dip the little balls of cake into the chocolate.  You narrow your eyes at him for a moment before carrying on decorating the cake pops. 

It wasn’t a minute later when you felt another drop on chocolate on your arm.  You look over at Bucky, who is finishing the last cake pop with a cheeky smile on his face. “You’re gonna pay for that Barnes.”

Bucky looks up toward you only to see you lunging at him with a handful of excess cake.  You manage to tackle the hockey player, sending him falling to the kitchen floor, where you straddle his stomach and rub the cake in his face.  After realizing you weren’t going to give up, Bucky launched a full counter assault in the form of tickles, upon you. 

You can’t help the hysterical laughter coming from you and it’s almost involuntary when you finally shout, “BUCKY STOP!”

Bucky’s hands immediately stop in shock.  He couldn’t believe it.  He gives you a soft smile,“You called me Bucky.”

Looking down at Bucky’s cake filled face and hair, you can’t help but smile.  For the first time since Bucky had returned into your life, you felt as if nothing had changed.  You remove yourself off of him and reach on the counter to grab him a towel.  Allowing him a minute to clean off, you think of what to say.

“B-Bucky…I’m sorry.  Can’t we forget the last few years ever happened?  Can we just be us again?  You, me, and Steve against the world?”  You look at your hands hoping that he will not find your mood change too sudden. 

“Of course, like I told ya when we were kids.  You’re stuck with me forever.”  Bucky is timid as he places his arm around you.  You allow him to pull you in a quick side hug.

“Come on let’s clean this mess up”

* * *

Later that night while laying in your bed you have trouble trying to sleep.  You couldn’t help but feel something odd in the pit of your stomach after thinking about the events of the afternoon.  It was almost surreal, knowing that you had Bucky back in your life.  You can’t help but wonder what tomorrow will bring. 


	5. Chapter 5

A few days had passed since you had helped Bucky with his cake pops and became friends again.  Since then, you, Steve, and Bucky had spent every free moment the three of you had catching up.  The first game of the season was coming fast and team was working harder than ever.   As per team tradition the Avenger’s held a public practice.  Anyone could come and watch them practice and get the chance to meet their heroes.  It was also the day that the bake sale would take place.

You had set up the table with the help of Natasha and Peggy, as each wife or girlfriend arrived the table became more full with goodies.  Natasha had brought her world famous ‘death by chocolate’ cake, and Peggy had made Steve’s favorite cake.   When you set the cake pops down behind Bucky’s jersey number on the table, you were met with curious glances. 

You ignored them and finished helping everyone get set.  Before the doors opened, the team and staff were able to come and buy something if they wanted.   Steve made a point to stop at the table, kissing Peggy and trying to distract her while Clint tried to buy a piece of the cake for Steve.  Peggy of course, caught him and both her and Natasha gave both men an ear full. 

Your father came by, buying one of everything as he did every year. “Hey kiddo, how much did you have to make this year?”

He knew that you helped the single guys out as much as you could every year.  “Just Bucky this year dad.”

Your father did nothing to stop the smile on his face when he heard you refer to Bucky as just that.  He gave you a knowing smile and headed back to his office after thanking the girls for their hard work. 

After some of the cleaning staff came for Natasha’s cake, she sidled up to you with a smile on her face. “So Bucky’s good looking.  Is he single?”

You roll your eyes at her, she was always playing matchmaker. “Yes he’s single.”

“I think I know someone I can hook him up with.”  You ignore the unfamiliar pang in your stomach at the thought of Bucky having a girlfriend and nod your head at her. 

“Well, well, well, look at this table.  I have to say you girls really know how to bake.”  You look up at the sound of Bucky’s voice and resist the urge to smile. 

He has his arms crossed on his broad chest, his hair is slightly damp and falling in his eyes from his shower, he has on an avengers t-shirt and some sweatpants.  You try and fail, not to notice how he seems to only have his sights set on you and not the desserts.

Bucky gives you a grin and pulls out his wallet. “I’d like to buy all the cake pops please.”

You look at him in disbelief before giving him a glare, “No”

The girls look at you confused, this was for charity you never tell anyone they can’t buy something.   Bucky laughs, “Aww come on Y/n, I thought we were friends again”

“We are friends again, which is why I’m being a good friend and telling you no.  I happen to know that you still have a dozen cake pops at your place.”  You give him a smirk while the girls around you giggle, clearly enjoying the interaction. 

Bucky can’t help but feel a small sense of relief, for a brief moment he thought you had changed your mind about being friends with him.  Giving you a soft smile, he pushes his hair out of his face, “You said this was important.  If it’s important to you, I want to help.”

You didn’t know what to say so you just smiled and boxed up three cake pops while Natasha took his money.  You hand him the box giving him a small smile and tell him thank you. 

“Can I talk to you for a minute, privately.”  Bucky gestured over to the small hallway a few steps away.  You nod, and ignore Peggy and Natasha’s smirking faces and follow him around the corner. 

Once you are around the corner, Bucky turns to face you with a smile on his face, “How are you?”

You raise an eyebrow at him, “You had to bring me all the way over her to ask me that?  I’m fine.”

“I was just checking,  I mean we play Hydra tomorrow and I know that War-” You press your finger to his mouth cutting him off. 

“I’m totally fine.  I’m not worried about that asshole.  Besides, I have the whole Avenger’s team protecting me.”  You give him a small smile, thankful that you know Bucky has your back along with the rest of the team. 

“Good, I won’t ever let him hurt you again, I promise.  I was also hoping you’d help me with something.” You motion at him to keep going. 

“Remember when we were kids, before a game if I was nervous you would tell me how awesome I was and give me a hug?”  You look at him with humor in your eyes, and nod.

“Can we do that again sweetheart?”  Bucky gives you a wide grin, and tickles your side a bit.  You wiggle away from him and roll your eyes half heartedly at the nickname.

“Cut it out, and yes I’ll give you a hug before the game.  Why are you acting so weird.  You also use to hug Steve, he’ll already be in the locker room with you, just hug him.”  Bucky laughs out loud and wraps you in a hug, the box with the cake pops pressing into your back.

“Thanks for the hug. You can tell me how awesome I am tomorrow.”  He presses his lips to your cheek before releasing you and jogging away. Before you had realized what he had done, he was gone. 

Walking back to the girls, you had to fight the large smile that was threatening to break out across your face.   When you finally were back behind the table, you were met with the large smiles of the wives and girlfriends.  “What?”

“Y/n really? He tries to buy only the dessert you made.  He asks you to speak with him privately, then when he came out of that hallway we all saw the look on his face.  What’s going on?”  As Natasha spoke Peggy and the other girls smiled knowingly. 

“Nothing is going on, he had to talk to me about something and wanted to know if he could hug Steve before the game.”  You try to ignore the girls and busy yourself with filling the desserts to replace the ones that had been sold.  

“Sure that’s what he asked.   You know Y/n, you don’t have to lie to us.  You two are adorable.” Natasha smiled and wiggled her eyebrows at you. Luckily the fans had entered the arena and began purchasing desserts forcing the attention off of you. 

After a while Peggy gave you a nudge, when you looked at her she smiled.  Steve had a big mouth and you knew that he probably had filled her in on your history.  She wanted to say something you could tell, “Go ahead Peggy, say what you want to say.”

“Sometimes life gives you a second chance.  If you want my advice, take it.  You may not get a third chance.”  Peggy wasn’t often one to get in people’s business but, you knew Steve and her story.   They got their second chance, and they were both clearly very in love.  Maybe it was finally your turn.


	6. Chapter 6

The night after the bake sale, you tossed and turned, unable to sleep.  Peggy’s words filled your mind and you knew she was right.   You assumed Bucky had some sort of feelings for you.  At least he did in the past according to Steve.  Why would he make so much effort to get back in your good graces if he didn’t feel something for you.   Plus he kissed you yesterday, just on the cheek, but still.  It had to mean something right?

You were set to meet up with the guys after their morning skate to wish them luck.  You would be sitting in your father’s box to watch the game.  Most of the spouses only showed up for a game every once in awhile but you were there every game.  Partly because it was your job, and partly because you loved the game so much. 

After a lot of thought, you decided Peggy was right and you were going to take a chance.  You look at the jersey you were wearing taking in the Avengers logo, you’d hoped this would be enough of a hint for Bucky as to your feelings.   Wearing Bucky’s jersey would make a statement, not only to him but everyone else.  You hadn’t been this nervous in a long time. 

Sitting at your desk you pick at your fingernails, the boys would be here any minute.   A soft knock on the door tells you that you were right.  “Come in”

Your two favorite men came in wearing matching grins.  They both plop down on the plush couch you kept in your office. “Well sweetheart, tell me how awesome I am so I can win this game.”

You look at Bucky’s smug face and roll your eyes, you lean back in your leather chair and give him a cheeky grin, “Let’s see you have amazing taste in friends, and your face is okay I guess, you’re an average hockey player, and if you lose this game I’ll kick your butt.”

You watch as Bucky’s smile falters a bit, “I thought you were gonna say I’m handsome and I happen to be an above average hockey player sweetheart, so get that right.”

Steve watches the interaction between you carefully, he knew there was feeling between the two of you and Peggy had made him promise to report back on anything he had seen, so that she can help you two get together.  He couldn’t help but smile knowing his two best friends were back on the right track. 

“Steve is a better hockey player than you.”  You can’t help but laugh out loud at the look on Bucky’s face, he looked horrified while, you and Steve hysterically laughed.

Bucky couldn’t help but smile at your laughter, he went so long trying to remember what that sound was like.  Jumping up quickly he begins tickling your sides, trying to make the happiness you felt towards him last a bit longer. You wiggle and squirm in your seat trying to get away from his hands. 

“Take it back sweetheart and I’ll stop.”

“Fine I take it back!” As the words left your lips, Bucky’s hands stopped but never left your sides.  Your eyes were locked and you suddenly forgot you were in your office.  You were back in high school looking into what you were sure was the love of your life’s eyes.  If only he knew how you felt.  Bucky’s brain was exploding, he hadn’t realized how close your heads were, just a few more inches and he could feel the softness of your lips on his like he had been dreaming about for weeks. 

Just as he is about to close the gap between the two of you, a voice breaks through both of your thoughts. “Buck, we gotta go.”

You knew it wasn’t Steve’s fault but you couldn’t help but be slightly annoyed with him.  Bucky closes his eyes and lets out a huff of air before following behind Steve, both waving good bye. 

“Bucky wait!”  You stand from your chair and give Bucky a big smile when he turns from the threshold of the door.  You rush up to him giving him a hug, “I’ll be cheering for you!  But you better go.”

You leave his arms quickly and turn to walk back to your chair, you hear a quick intake of breath and know he saw the back of your jersey holding his number and last name on the back.  Before he could say anything, Bucky was yanked from the door by Steve.

“You jerk! She was wearing my jersey, I think she may feel the same as me, I need to go talk to her!”  Bucky tries to yank his arm from Steve’s grasp, but he doesn’t let go. 

“We have a game to win.  We gotta beat Ward for her. You guys can talk after the game.”  Bucky sighs but knows Steve is right.  He was going to take every opportunity he could to throw Ward into the boards. 

* * *

You watched from your father’s box as the players entered the ice for a quick warm up.  You watched Steve and Bucky as they practiced tossing pucks into the net.  You chance a look at Hydra and notice Wards number skating closer to where Bucky and Steve were waiting by the boards.  Before he reached them however, he looks up towards the box, your eyes meet and he points at you before exaggeratingly blows a kiss at you.  

You shoot him a scowl and look to away to try and find Steve and Bucky.  You don’t have to search long as they both had seen what Ward had done.  Steve gave him a glare before turning and heading back to the locker room.  Ward raised his hand in a wave to Bucky, after all they were friends and teams for a few years.  Bucky ignored him and followed Steve back to the locker room.

The first two periods of the game was fairly uneventful, both teams never letting the other get close enough to score.  At the opening of the third and final period, Ward finally decided enough was enough and decided he would take out hockey’s golden boy, he skated toward Steve, waiting until he was distracted and started skating at him full speed.  Just as Ward was about to hit him, Steve looked up and moved out of the way causing Ward to hit the boards.  While Hydra was distracted by the noises of the crowd, Bucky was able to pass the puck to Clint, who skated between two Hydra defencemen, to pass the puck back to Bucky, who shot the puck into the net. 

You were certain Bucky could hear you screaming his name of the crowd and goal horn, you threw a hand over your mouth, slightly embarrassed how loud you screamed and called his name.  You couldn’t stop smiling, his first game as an Avenger and he scores.  You watch as Bucky skates around the ice giving his teammates high fives, before his eyes find you in your father’s box. 

He lifts his arm up and points at you, a wide grin on his face, you know as soon as you see him, he is going to say he scored because of you.   As the seconds tick down, you cheer along with the crowd as the boys cheer their win.  You begin to collect your things and make your way down to you office before heading to the locker room to meet the guys.  While you are distracted you don’t notice the interaction between Bucky and Grant. 

As the teams had cleared the ice, Ward skated past Bucky hitting his shoulder with Bucky’s, he like everyone else had noticed him pointing at you,  it was obvious to anyone with a pulse there was something there. “Enjoy my sloppy seconds Barnes, she really is a gem, ask her to do your laundry - She’s really good at that.”

Bucky’s hands clench his stick, he tries not to show how bothered he is by Ward’s comments, the last thing he needs is to be suspended for breaking his stick over the guy’s head.  Besides you wouldn’t want him in trouble, so he chooses to be the bigger man and skates away, after all you’re waiting for him and he owes you a kiss.


	7. Chapter 7

You stand in the hallway between the home and visitor locker rooms, you pick at your jersey and smile to yourself.  You were so proud of your boys, you wonder for a brief moment if they were going to continue their post win traditions.  A door opening broke through your thoughts, you turn in excitement toward the home locker room only to see the door hadn’t moved an inch.  The visitor door however was being pushed closed by none of other than Grant Ward.

“Well well well, if it isn’t the prettiest hockey heiress in the league.”  Ward gave you a smirk and walked toward you, and you take a step back, your body hitting the cement wall behind you. 

You roll your eyes and turn away from him.  The last thing you wanted was to talk to Grant. Before he could open his mouth again, Steve and Bucky exited the locker room, both wearing black suits.  Bucky eyes found you immediately and he walked towards you with an excited grin on his face.  Steve however, noticed Ward first. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“What? Can’t a guy visit old friends?  Barnes it’s good to see you.  How’s Dot, bet you can’t wait to get her out here for a visit.” The smile Ward gave Bucky was anything but friendly.  He looked over to your confused expression. 

“Oh dear, did he not tell you about Dot?”  Grant gave you a smile and turned towards Bucky again.  At first you had thought Bucky was going to hit him.  Bucky gave him a lazy grin instead and wrapped his arm around your shoulders, leading you away.  Bucky seeing the look on Steve’s face decided to let him handle Grant. 

“Grant why don’t you take your loser ass and get the hell out of my arena.”  Grant smirked at Steve’s pissed off expression.  Steve was known as the golden boy of the NHL.  He could do no wrong and was a friend to everyone, at least that’s what it seemed. 

Ward began walking toward the exit but not before getting one more dig in, “Wonder what the media would say if they heard their golden boy talking like this.  We play you again in a month Rogers, better watch your back.”

* * *

The ride in the elevator to your office was silent.  Bucky hadn’t removed his arm from your shoulders and had no intention of letting you go.  Your mind was running wild with questions.  Who was Dot?  Did Bucky have someone back home?  Was history repeating itself?  You wanted so desperately to ask him, but truth be told you were scared.   What if you misread the situation you had found yourself in.  What if he just wanted to be friends?

You hadn’t realized you had arrived at your office until you felt Bucky’s arm slip off your shoulders, his hand finding yours, entwining your fingers.  You walk into your office, leading him with you.   You sit in your office chair releasing his hand much to his disappointment, while he sat on the small couch to the side of your desk. 

You roll your office chair towards him and cross your legs, “Congratulations on your win.  That sure was some goal.”

Bucky can tell you want to ask, he admired your restraint. “Thanks sweetheart.  Because I know you want to know…Dot…She was a girl I was seeing when I played for Hydra, I haven’t been with her in almost a year.  We stayed friends after we split. Ward - he knows how I feel about you that’s the only reason he brought her up.  He wanted to piss me off, ruin my chances with you.”

You watch Bucky as he speaks, you can tell he isn’t really aware that he is confessing his feelings to you, his anger getting the best of him.  You giggle a bit when he finally finishes, drawing his attention.  Giving you a slight smile he fixes his gaze on you, “What’s so funny sweetheart?”

“You.  For the record, Grant didn’t ruin your chances with me.  He probably wanted to piss me off too.  It’s what he does best.  You also didn’t have to tell me about Dot.”  You give him a smile watching his expression change from a slight smile to a broad one. 

He leans forward on the couch slightly, grabbing the arms of your office chair and pulled it towards him so you’re crossed legs are nestled between his slightly open ones.  He subconciously licks his lips, leaning even closer to you, his hands holding his weight as moves toward you. 

“Why are you so great? Seriously sweetheart. You’re amazing.  I can’t believe I just let you -”  Bucky ducks his head down, cutting himself off. 

“Let me what?”  You look at him hoping and praying that he was going to do what you hoped he would do.  All those feelings you had for Bucky when you were kids hit you like brick wall.  The man in front of you looked every bit the teenage boy in his gym uniform you fell for so long ago.  You just wished you were braver then, maybe things would have been different. 

He lifted his head, the corner of his lips turning up in a smile, “Get away.  I won’t let that happen a second time.”

You feel his breath on your lips, you lean forward just an inch, you wanted him, there was no denying that, but you were gonna make him work for it.  He locks eyes with you and leans forward. 

“Y/n are you okay?  Don’t let that idiot– What’s going on in here?”  Steve had walked into your office not bothering to knock.  Bucky lets out a groan and plops back on the couch, hitting his head against the back of the sofa repeatedly.  Steve gives you an embarrassed, but apologetic smile.  

You huff and grab your purse, standing from your chair, and pushing past Steve, “Nothing’s going on anymore.  Come on let’s go get some dinner.”

Bucky stands as well giving Steve a glare as he follows you out of your office.  Steve gives Bucky a pleading look, before following behind him shutting your office door, “Sorry!!! I should’ve knocked.  Guys wait up!”


	8. Chapter 8

You sit in your office typing an email to your dad about the upcoming promotions for the month, when the sounds of laughter from grown men filled the halls.  The team had been away for three weeks playing in away games and it seemed were finally home.  You try to remove the smile off of your face, and try to focus on the work in front of you.  You were so giddy to see Bucky and Steve.  You missed them both tons, but after what happened in your office with Bucky after his game, you really couldn’t wait to see him.

You had set in your mind that you were going to kiss him, if Steve got in the way, well then on his own head be it.  You and Bucky had been texting daily and talking over the phone when you could.  He had told you they would be home today, you just had no idea what time.  They had done fairly well in their games, so you knew you were getting back two very happy men.

Hearing a pair of footsteps coming toward your door, you suppress your smile and focus on the computer in front of you.  A short knock on your door has you looking up.  Steve had peeked his head in your door, giving you a wide grin. “We’re baaack!”

You roll your eyes at his sing song voice and wave him in, your grin grows as you see Bucky following behind him.  You watch as the corners of his mouth raise up into a broad smile. “Hey sweetheart.  I - We missed you.”

The two plopped themselves on your couch and began telling you all about their trip.  They told you about how some rookie had been pranked the whole time.  Bucky and Steve being the ones responsible for the meanest in your opinion.  On an off day, where they were finally all able to sleep in, Bucky and Steve had ordered three wake up calls for the rookie at 3 AM, 5 AM, and 7 AM.  The poor thing was so exhausted after a long night out, he didn’t have the sense to cancel any others that could have been potentially waiting for him. 

You laughed along with the boys, shaking your head at their childishness.  You sneak a glance at Bucky, finding him staring at you with laughter in his eyes, and a fond smile on his face.  “What did we miss around here?”

You pull your eyes from Bucky’s and lick your lips taking a breath, “Well, let’s see I worked.  I got my dad to approve a few things I’ve been bugging him about.  Also Nat and I had a few friend dates, but other than that I just hung out.”

“You’re so boring, you need a boyfriend Y/n”  You look at Steve in disbelief.  Bucky gave Steve a look of horror.  Steve seeming unaffected by both of your stares, gave you both a mischievous grin, clearly pleased with himself.  While you mentally planned how you would murder Steve and get away with it, Bucky was clearing his throat.  

“Why don’t we go to dinner sweetheart.  You should get out of this office, have a little fun.”

“YEAH!  We can head to Vinny’s!  I have been craving their pizza.”  Steve let out a moan after mentioning Vinny’s, it was his guilty pleasure and he wasn’t allowed it too much during the hockey season.  Bucky shot a glance at you and noted your face matched his with a look of annoyance. 

“Steve, buddy, I actually just meant me and Y/n.”  Giving Steve a pointed look, Steve’s eyes widen in realization.  Bucky had told him that he was going to ask you out, he had partially wanted Steve to give his approval, as well as getting the hint he needed to back off. 

“Oh…OH..Of course you did!”  Steve stands quickly and walks a few short steps over to you and gives you a kiss on the cheek and mutters goodbye. 

“Bye Steve and thanks.”  You return his smile and know that he is doing this for the both of you.  Steve hated being left out, you knew you and Bucky would both be getting phone calls later in the evening. 

After closing up your office, the two of you headed out to another restaurant instead of Vinny’s.  They last thing you needed was to go there and have Steve sitting with Natasha at the next table.  You both settled on the mexican restaurant down the street from the arena, opting to walk instead of driving. 

After a wonderful dinner filled with good food, laughter and conversation, neither of you wanted to go home to empty apartments quiet yet.   You grabbed Bucky’s hand and pulled him behind you, running back toward the side entrance to the arena. 

“Where we goin sweetheart?” Bucky gave you a laugh squeezing your hand tighter following closely behind you.  You arrive at the door and release his hand, digging through your purse. 

“Breaking and entering really?”  Bucky gives you a look of amusement, while you turn back towards him holding up a key. 

“Don’t you remember Barnes, I’m the owner’s daughter.  It isn’t breaking in when you have a key.”  Giving him a cheeky grin you unlock the door and grab his hand pulling him into the building. 

You press a finger to your lips and lead him into the main part of the arena where the rink was freshly zambonied.  You walk toward the ice and take a deep breath, Bucky admiring you as you had a little moment to yourself.  “I love the way it smells in here.  It smells like home.  I mean we spent all our time on the ice, from the time we were kids till even now.”

Bucky gives you an indulgent smile and walks towards you reaching his arms out to you, placing his hands on your hips gently, “You’re right, I guess hockey rinks have played a huge part in both of our lives.  So what are we gonna do now doll?”

You give him a small smile and lead him to the locker room door. “Skate of course.”

After grabbing his skates from his locker stall while you grabbed a spare set you hid for yourself in Steve’s locker, he placed them on his feet quickly, moving over to where you sat and began lacing your skates for you.  You let a small smile appear on your face as you watched him lace the skates carefully, he worked almost methodically, making sure they were tight and the laces were tied where you couldn’t skate over them and fall. 

“I remember you doing this for me when we were in middle school.”  He looks up at you and the smile he gives you has you grateful that you are sitting. 

“You broke your arm during a game, if I remember right.  That seems so long ago.”  He stands and offers you his hand, which you take and pull yourself up. 

“It was.  Too long.”

Bucky doesn’t release your hand as he moves toward the rink.  When you both hit the ice, he turns so he is skating backwards and you follow him, he gives you a smile and lets you catch up to him.  You take both his hands in yours and you skate around the arena before Bucky releases one of your hands so he can skate beside you.  You can’t help but feel a jolt in your stomach over the feel of his hand in yours. 

“It’s been so long since I skated with a pretty girl.”  You give Bucky a laugh of disbelief and lean closer to him. Bucky gives you a grin and slows to a stop, turning to stand in front of you, placing his hands on your hips.

“Hey it’s one of my signature get the girl moves.”

You skate yourself a bit closer to him and laugh, “Oh really?  Does that actually work?”

“Depends on the girl.   Usually we would skate for a bit.  After a while I’d stop and face her.  Pull her close and rub her arms.  Make sure she is warm enough.”  Bucky rubs your arms slowly as he speaks, warming you slightly, you watch his lips as he speaks eyes darting to his, butterflies erupting in your stomach. 

“Then I’d pull her close, look deep into her eyes before leaning in and..”  Bucky pulled you close as he spoke looking into your eyes, the corner of his mouth raising a bit.   He leaned his face close to yours, as he trailed off, meeting his lips ever so softly to yours.  

You return the kiss with equal softness, the two of you breaking apart by an inch, before both of you leaned back in for more.  Just as your lips met again, an angry voice had you jumping apart. 

“What the hell are you two doing in here?”  You look to the entrance at the side of the rink finding Joe (head of security for the arena) and your dad staring at you both.  You let out a huff of disappointment that has Bucky chuckling, and skate with Bucky over to your dad and Joe. 

“I thought I was done having to fuss at you two over breaking rules when you were kids.  Guess some things never change.”  Your dad gives the two of you a playful glare before giving you both a knowing smile. 

“You know Bucky’s always been a bad influence Dad.”  You laugh and sit on one of the stadium seats taking off your skates.

Bucky does the same shooting you a fake glare, “Still throwing me under the bus, huh sweetheart?”

“Yep! It’s why I keep you around Buck.”  He gives you a grin and shakes his head.   Steve was right, he was in way to deep.


	9. Chapter 9

It had been a whole week since you had been to the arena.  You had holed yourself up in your apartment, you had blamed Bucky of course, for you getting sick.  Technically it was your fault, but you weren’t gonna tell him that.   You were finally feeling a bit better, but knew there was no way you were able to go to the game and sit in the cold.  The Avengers were playing another rival, The Ironmen. 

 

The ironmen were lead by Tony Stark, a cocky player who was almost as good at hockey as he thought he was.  Steve and Tony had a lengthy history, their fathers had played together in college.   They had also played together off and on throughout the years, but for some reason, unknown to you, they had a falling out and never reconnected.   It seemed as if Tony had it out for Steve and vice versa.  This game wouldn’t be as brutal as a game versus Hydra but it would still be bad. 

 

You bundled yourself up on the couch with a blanket and grabbed your beer and a slice of the pizza you had ordered earlier.  It was the last period of the game and it was tied two to two. Tony Stark, the captain of the Ironmen, had been taking shots at Steve and Bucky the whole night.  It was like he had a personal vendetta against the two of them.  He purposely was hitting them into the boards every chance he got.

 

There were five minutes remaining in the game when you watched as Steve led the team to the Ironmen side of the ice to try and score.  No one saw it coming.  Tony tripped Steve sending him flying towards the boards where Tony slammed his body into Steve’s.  You watched in horror as Steve struggled to get up.  The reaction from the team was immediate. All the men on the ice had attacked Tony, Bucky doing the most damage.   The refs tried to calm the men down and when they finally had succeeded, Tony was sent to the penalty box for two minutes.   Steve however was helped off the ice by the team trainer and Clint. 

 

Bucky looked at the scoreboard and was more determined than ever to win the game.  As the minutes ticked by the Ironmen were fighting harder than ever to win.  You didn’t see how it happened, but Jim Rhodes managed to push the puck past the Avenger’s goalie winning the game.  You let out a groan of frustration before the announcers caught your attention yelling about the fight that was taking place on the ice. 

 

Bucky had ran at Tony trying to give him what he deserved for hurting Steve.  Tony immediately dropped the gloves socking Bucky in the eye.  The two went round and round neither relenting until the referees split them up.  You watched as the minutes ticked down signalling the end of the game.  You sat back on the couch letting out a huff, you hadn’t realized the game had put you literally on the edge of your seat. 

 

Grabbing your phone, you shoot a text to Peggy asking about Steve, you knew she had been at the game and would be with him while he got checked out by the team doctors.   Next you sent a text to Bucky asking if he was all right.  After getting no reply from Peggy or Bucky, you settle into the couch and turn on the tv show you had been binge watching. 

 

A knock on your door has you huffing and getting up from the couch.  Peeking out of the peephole on your door, you unlock the door swinging it open quickly.  Bucky stood before you, dressed in Avenger’s sweatpants and t-shirt and sporting a black eye and small cut on his cheek.  He gives you a smile that is more of a grimace than anything else.  You move aside letting him into your apartment.  Not saying a word you lead him to the couch where he takes a seat closing his eyes. You head to the kitchen grabbing an ice pack from the freezer and return to Bucky.  He cracks open his good eye when he feels the couch dip with your weight. 

 

Giving you the same boyish grin you recognize from when you were kids, he sits up and scoots a bit closer to you.  You shake your head at him and place the ice pack in a towel and hold it up to his eye.  “How bad?”

 

“Not bad, he’s gonna be okay.  Doc had him good as new before I left.  Peggy was there, she took him home after the doctor was done fixing him up.”  Bucky replaced your hand on the ice pack, allowing you to look next at the cut on his cheek. 

 

Wiping an alcohol pad on his cut, you give a small smile as he winces away from you, “Some big strong hockey player you are.  Did the alcohol hurt you big baby?”

 

“Sweetheart that hurt more than Stark punching me.”

 

“Like I said, big baby.   Buck why’d you have to go and fight Tony?  It isn’t worth it.”  You give him a sad smile stroke his cheek just below his cut.   Luckily it wasn’t deep and didn’t need stitches. 

 

He leans into your touch a fraction, before giving you a sigh. “He could have really hurt Steve.  If he hit him wrong he could have paralyzed him.  I was just sticking up for our Captain.  You know the deal Y/n, this is hockey.”

 

“I know, doesn’t mean I want my boyfriend beaten to a pulp.”  You look down cleaning up the mess of paper and wipes, not realizing what you had said.

 

Bucky places his hand on yours halting your movements, making you raise your head to look at him in confusion. Bucky moves his opposite hand to your cheek, letting the ice pack fall to his lap.  The cold of his hand doesn’t even affect you as Bucky leans towards you placing his lips on yours.  You waste no time returning his kiss eagerly, you feel Bucky release your hand bringing it up to your face holding you gently in place. 

 

After a few moments, he gently moves back half an inch, letting you both catch your breath before he leans in again leaving short gentle pecks every few seconds on your lips. 

 

“Finally no interruptions.”  You give Bucky a broad smile at his words, your eyes filled with humor. 

 

“Am I really your boyfriend?”

 

Your eyes widen as you look at him in shock, finally what you said sink into your brain.  You bite your lip and nod waiting for his reaction.

 

Leaning forward he kisses you sweetly hugging you to him, he leans back on the couch, taking your body with his, making himself comfortable cuddling you on his chest. 

 

“I won.  The team may have loss tonight but damn, did I score tonight.”  You can’t help but laugh at his words, letting yourself get lost in the feel of him. 

 

“Stay” 

 

“Anything you want sweetheart.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

You wake up in your bed with calloused fingers trailing gently up and down your arm.   You for a brief moment wonder how you got in your bed, when you remembered falling asleep on Bucky’s chest in the living room.  You turn so you are laying on your back and look at Bucky.  His hair was tousled from sleep, the cut on his cheek had healed some, his black eye however darkening overnight.

You reach out a hand and gently run your fingertips over the blackest part of his bruise carefully watching his eyes for any sign of pain.  He takes your hand in his kissing each of your fingertips just as gently as you had touched him.  “Good morning sweetheart.”

You give him a smile and stretch your arms over your head before looking towards the alarm clock on the bedside table.   “Don’t you have practice today?”

Bucky gives you a grin, wrapping his arm around your waist he pulls you to him. His other arm supporting his head as he looks down at you, “Nope have an off day.  I figured we could stay in bed all morning and then get some lunch before going to check on Steve.”

You pretend to think for a moment, trying not to let your happiness show at the fact he wanted to spend one of the few days he off with you. “I think that would be okay.”

Bucky tickles your side a bit with a mock indignant look on his face, “Just okay?  Jeez sweetheart I thought you liked me?”

You laugh and capture his hand in yours and hold it to your chest kissing his swollen knuckles.  You realize too late how sore they are when you hear Bucky release a hiss of air from his teeth.  Giving him an apologetic look, you open your mouth to apologize only to have Bucky capture your lips in a kiss. 

Pulling back after a moment, he wraps his arm around you yet again, pulling you closer from where you had wiggled away from him. “It’s okay Y/n, I am thinking about getting in a fight next game too if it means you’re my nurse.”

“You better not.” Bucky lets out a laugh and nuzzles his face in your neck leaving tiny kisses in random spots.   You move your neck to accommodate him, sighing in contentment. 

When he is satisfied, he leans up, his head once again supported by his arm, to look you in the eyes. “Tell me something I don’t know about you.”

You look at his with humor in your eyes, “Bucky you have known me since I was 6 years old.   You know everything.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, “I do not, come on tell me something.”

You think hard for a moment, before getting a small embarrassed smile on your face, “I had a crush on Steve for a few years in elementary and middle school.”

Bucky lets out a bark of laughter, “Sweetheart I hate to tell you but everyone knew except maybe Steve, that you had a crush on him.”

You give him an exaggerated pout, “Shut up, I was devastated when we were 13 and he told me that he thought of me like sister.”

“I apologize, come on now, something I don’t know, and don’t say it was a crush on me, I knew you liked me in high school.”  He gives you a smug smile and leans down to steal another kiss. 

“That’s not true actually.”  Bucky looks at you with surprise, he was certain that you had liked him.

“I liked you in high school and I liked you in college.  In fact I almost confessed it to you the day before you and Steve got drafted.”  You watch the expression on his face change from one of humor to contemplation. 

“When did you try to confess?  I know I would remember if…”  You bit your lip and sigh.  You never thought you would have this conversation with him and were wishing you had said something else. 

“I went to your and Steve’s dorm room that day remember?  You had asked me to come and help you pick out a suit to wear for the draft.  I was so excited, I just knew you liked me back, why else would you have asked me to help you, so like an idiot, I put on a dress and went to your dorm determined to tell you.  When I got there and you let me in, I saw that girl….Delores I think her name was, sitting on your bed with her gorgeous hair and face, and I just stood there and thought what the hell are you doing, he doesn’t like you, he likes her.” 

You take a deep breath and look down at Bucky’s arm around your waist.  As you spoke his grip had tightened.  You had never planned on telling him this but it was too late to go back now. 

“I was always one of the guys with you and Steve.  I figured if I wore a dress and makeup you finally realize I was a girl and maybe would actually like me romantically, not just as a friend.  I had no idea you were even seeing her, and it upset me that you liked her and it upset me, that you called me your best friend but didn’t tell me you were dating her.  So I pretended to be sick, told you I wouldn’t be at the draft and stayed in my room.  Seeing you with her I knew I would never be like her so I cut all ties, to make it easier on myself.”

Bucky watched you intently, unsure what to say or do.  He knew you had liked him in high school and at that point he hadn’t like you.  Then when you got to college he suddenly realized you were beautiful and funny, and he was certain you didn’t like him, you called him your best friend for God sake, so he had tried going out with Dot.

Bucky leaned down capturing your lips in a passionate kiss, as he tried to put everything he felt for you in that kiss. “I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry.  I liked you in college but you kept calling me a friend and treated me like you treated Steve, so I tried to move on with Dot.  If I had known… God I should have kissed you a long time ago.”

You give him a sad smile, “I didn’t tell you that to make you feel bad, in fact you have no reason to be sorry, you didn’t know.  I should be the one apologizing.   I was horrible to you when you first got here, you never did anything to me.”

You turn on your side and cuddle into Bucky’s chest.  He wraps his arms around you holding you tightly to him.  “I’m not letting you go now sweetheart, you’re mine now.  I’ve loved you since we were kids, I know that now, I was just too dumb to realize it then.”

“I love you too Buck.  Now after that confession I think you owe me one” You look up at him with a cheeky grin, and kiss him along his jawline.

“When we were about 8 or 9, I heard Brock Rumlow saying he was going to try and kiss you after school.  I told him you were my girlfriend and if he tried anything me and Steve were gonna pound him.  I remember tellin’ Steve that day the reason I got so mad, was that I liked you.  I knew you liked him, so I told him that I liked you so you wouldn’t date him.”

You laugh and shake your head, “We really suck at communicating Buck, we could have been together for years if either of us opened our mouths.”

Bucky laughs with you placing a kiss on the top of your head holding you even closer to him. “Steve should have told us both, let’s just blame him.”

“Deal”  You close your eyes and snuggle into Bucky for a short rest, but before you could his deep voice filled your head. 

“Y/n”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	11. Chapter 11

It had been two months since you and Bucky had solidified your relationship.  Steve had recovered from his injury and was back on the ice.  The two of you had been the talk of the team when your relationship had come out.  Of course it was Steve who dropped the bomb to the rest of the team.  He had a habit of telling everyone he could that you were in love, like a proud parent bragging about their kids good grades.

You check your phone as you head to your dad’s box, it was the last game of the regular season and this game determined the teams standings in the playoffs.  The boys were yet again playing against Hydra.  You had avoided the locker room area, not only because of Ward, but because of the tension the boys had been feeling the last week.  After getting snapped at by the men, you, Peggy, and Natasha had decided to keep your distance, spending most of your time together instead with the stressed out men. 

> Hey Sweetheart sorry I’ve been so crabby. Love you.

Bucky had texted you hours ago before his pregame nap, so you send him back a quick I love you and good luck, before heading into the box.  You grab a drink and sit at the counter that sat against the opening that showed you the wide expanse of the ice.  You look down at the crowd and smile.  Your attendance had hit the ceiling, tickets were selling out left and right, the popularity of the team, as well as all the event you had planned, had the team financially stable.  All the guys had to do was win the cup and the season would be perfect.

You hear the crowd erupt as the guys skated on the ice for warm up, you resist the urge to look over at the Hydra side of the ice.  The last thing you need was for Ward to catch you looking and for him to instigate Bucky or even Steve into something.  If you had your way he wouldn’t even be playing in the league.   You focus your attention on Bucky and Steve, watching as they glide across the ice, every once in awhile purposefully bumping into to each other or tossing the practice pucks over the glass to kids watching them. 

Before they go off the ice, Bucky looks up at the box, giving you a wink.  This had become his new routine.  It was his way of telling you he loved you, and he knew you were watching.  You blow him a kiss and wait for the game to begin.   

Half way through the first period, during a tv time out, Ward skated over to where Bucky was getting back into position ready to get the game back going, hitting him gently with his stick to get his attention, he leaned next to Bucky close, “I hear you and Y/n are officially together.  I would say congrats but you know, been there, done that….alot.”

Bucky rolls his eyes but says nothing.  He had promised you he wouldn’t do anything to Ward. You had told him he was a better man than Grant Ward would ever be, and didn’t need to stoop to his level.  So Bucky ignored him.  He also ignored him, when he tried to get Bucky to fight, “Come on Barnes, drop the gloves you know you want to hit me.”

Finally after the ref caught Ward tripping Bucky, for the third time, he was put in penalty box.   As time in the first period ticked down, Bucky finally got a break away, skating furiously from the Avengers side of the ice towards Hydra’s goal, Bucky was so focused on scoring he missed seeing Ward getting released from the penalty box.  Hydra’s coach was yelling at Ward to get off the ice so someone else could get on the ice and stop Bucky from scoring, he ignored him and shot off towards Bucky. 

He had almost caught up to Bucky when he saw Bucky’s arm raise up to slap the puck at the net.  In a last ditch effort to stop him, Grant threw his stick in front of Bucky’s feet, causing him to trip over the wood of the thin stick, losing his footing he falls forward hitting the ice painfully.  Due to the speed he was skating, his body’s momentum carried him head first into the boards that surrounded the ice. 

You let out a scream that was lost in the angry yells of the crowd.  Your father along with Peggy and Natasha stood while all of you watched in horror as Steve and Clint rushed over to Bucky.   Your sole focus was on Bucky, you kept telling yourself he would get up, any minute he would stand and would wave to the crowd signalling he was okay.   You watched as the team trainer and doctor were helped by other team members quickly over to where Bucky laid. 

The local paramedics that watched carefully over every game quickly were waved on to the ice, placing Bucky on a backboard then on a stretcher, you watched him slowly be wheeled off the ice.  Once he was off the ice, you finally let the tears fall, Peggy and Natasha quickly began collecting your things.  Your dad pulled you in close for a hug, whispering to you that he would be okay.   Allowing the girls to hug you, you grabbed your things and began walking toward the exit to where you had parked your car. 

Waiting for you by the door was Sam, Bucky and Steve’s agent. “Come on kid, let’s go check our boy out.” 

Sam began walking out of the arena towards his car, when he realized you weren’t beside him, he quickly turned towards the door looking for you.  You stood with your hands covering your face, he could tell by your shaking shoulders that you were sobbing.  Walking quickly to you and wrapping you in a hug, he hushed you slightly.  You and Sam had been quick friends when he first got hired to work with Steve.  He admired your love of the sport and you admired his friendship with Steve that seemed to be more important than their professional relationship. 

“What if-”  You couldn’t even get the rest of your words out.  You just couldn’t bear to think what could be waiting for you at the hospital. 

“Hey, listen to me, Barnes is tough.  He’s gonna be fine.  Let’s go see him okay?” Wiping the tears off your cheeks gently, he lead you to his car, Sam let the words he told you play in his head.  He only hoped that he wasn’t lying to you or himself.


	12. Chapter 12

The ride to the hospital was a short one, you looked out the window mostly, ignoring Sam’s attempts to engage you in conversation.  You knew he was only talking to keep himself from freaking out.  Since Bucky had got hurt in the first period of the game you knew no one else would be along to check on him for some time.  When you arrived at the hospital, Sam parked quickly and opened your door for you, getting out slowly you grasped his arm, using it as a life line.

Sam did all of the talking at the visitor’s desk, after being pointed into the correct direction, you went up to the 3rd floor where they said Bucky would be.  Sam sat you down on the leather bench in the waiting room, before walking over to a nurse to get more information.  It suddenly dawned on you, Bucky wasn’t your husband or family member, odds are you wouldn’t be allowed to see him, this brought on a fresh bout of tears.  

Sam came back with a solemn look on his face.  He plopped down onto the bench next to you letting out a huff, “He’s in surgery, we can’t see him until he is out.  So all we can do is wait.”

You nod your head deftly at Sam and close your eyes, resting your head on the wall behind you. You wouldn’t leave until you knew he was okay.

Two hours later you were woken by the voices of Coach Coulson, your father, and Steve.  Your eyes fluttered open to find Steve gently shaking your shoulder,   “Hey Y/n, wake up. I’m gonna take you home, let you get some real sleep.”

You shake your head and run your hands down your face, “Is he awake?  I want to see him.”

You stand quickly and move to brush pass Steve, before you can however, you are pulled into his arms, his grip on you tight, almost painful.  “He isn’t out yet.  There was more damage than they thought.  He will be about two more hours yet.”

You try not to cry, you bite your lip so hard you think you can taste blood, Steve allows you to cry never telling you to stop or to calm down.  You know he is just as worried as you are about losing Bucky.  You sit back on the bench and Steve takes Sam’s place, he wraps an arm around you and pulls you to him, resting your head on his shoulder, you close your eyes yet again and try to stay calm. 

* * *

It’s a few more hours later into the night when Steve is shaking you awake again, “Y/n, wake up, he’s in his room now.”

You shoot out of the chair, Steve’s jacket he had placed over you, fell to the ground, you were frantically wiping the sleep out of your eyes looking around for your purse, “Hey calm down, the surgery went fine.  He’s still kinda knocked out.  The nurse said it will be a while before he wakes up.”

You grab Steve’s hand and make your way toward the room only to be pulled to a stop when Steve doesn’t move.  “Steve come on, I want to be sure we’re there when he wakes up.”

Steve doesn’t move he releases your hand and rubs your arm soothingly, “I am gonna go home to Peggy, they won’t let me in till visiting hours tomorrow.  Apparently he told the staff when he got here that he wanted you to be allowed to know what is going on.  I’ll see you tomorrow and please try to sleep some more.”

Your heart flutters at Steve’s words and can’t help the relief you feel knowing that Bucky wanted you with him.  You give Steve a hug, and slowly walk towards Bucky’s room. 

You stop in the doorway and watch the nurse as she checks the machines that are around him.  You can’t stop the tears from welling up in your eyes, you let  a sob escape your lips.  The nurse looks up in surprise and hurries over to you.  “He’ll be alright hun, he just needs some rest.  That chair in the corner reclines and has wheels, you can move it toward the bed if you like.  If you need anything my name’s Sharon.”

You nod at her trying to calm yourself down, wiping at your eyes.  Once she had left the room you pulled the chair next to Bucky’s bed on his right side, pushing it as close as you could, you lay in it placing your hand in Bucky’s that laid on top of the yellow blanket that covered him.   You close your eyes for the third and final time, and try to get some sleep. 

* * *

The next morning you wake up to the sound of Sharon shuffling around the room, looking at Bucky quickly you’re disappointed to find him still asleep.  “Good morning.  Don’t worry he hasn’t been awake yet.  When he does, let me know and I’ll bring him his pain pill.”

You nod at her and tell her thank you.  You look down at Bucky and notice that his left arm is bandaged all the way up to his shoulder.  You realize he must have landed on it when he fell, you next take in his face, he has a gash above his eye that has been stitched up and some slight bruising.  He doesn’t have anything supporting his neck, which means no head or spine injury. 

You finally let out a sigh of relief allowing yourself a brief moment to relax.  You lay back down in your chair and close your eyes, letting out another sigh.  Your eyes fly open when a few minutes later you feel a feather light touch against your arm. 

You jump up in the chair looking quickly to Bucky.  When your eyes meet his, you immediately jump into action and make a move to grab him some water, “wait sweetheart.”

Bucky’s raspy voice hults your movements, “Bucky I was so….what do you need, tell me what I can get for you, do you want water?  Are you in pain? Are you hungry?”

“Slow down sweetheart.  Let me just look at you.”  He gives you a slight smile as he watches you look down at your wrinkled clothes and try to pat down your more than likely, mussed up hair. 

“I look awful.”

“Nah, you look amazing. Have you been here all night?”  You nod at him and pull the chair so it is facing his bed.  You fill his hand with yours and kiss his knuckles.  

“You should go home, I’ll be fine till you get back.  I promise.”

You shake your head and give him a small smile, “You tryin’ to get rid of me Barnes?”

“Sweetheart that’s the last thing I plan on doing, I just need you healthy so you can get me healthy.”  you laugh at his statement and press the button on the bed to call for Sharon. 

“You’re nurse’s name is Sharon.  She seems nice.”  You smile at him while you fix his blanket making sure it is covering him enough. 

“Y/n?”  He takes your wrist in his hand and rubs his thumb over your pulse point.

“Yeah?” You look at him with soft eyes, still slightly brimming with tears. 

“Thanks for staying with me all night. I’m probably gonna need a nurse when I get outta here.  Think you’d consider living with me for a while?”  The look he gives you is filled humor but his eyes are filled with hope.

“Of course I will.”  You lean down pressing a gentle kiss to his lips not wanting to hurt him. 

“I love you.”

“I love you too Buck.”


	13. Chapter 13

Bucky spent another day in the hospital before the doctor finally released him to go home.  You had sat with your tablet in your lap, taking numerous notes as the doctor explained to Bucky all he would need to do and not do, for his arm and shoulder to heal.  Steve had insisted on driving Bucky home and helping you get him into the house - easy, right?

Wrong.  Per hospital rules, Bucky had to exit the hospital in a wheelchair.  He had insisted to Sharon, the doctor, and you, he was perfectly capable of leaving on his own two legs, however none of you would budge.  So he sat in the wheelchair while you pushed him at exactly 0.2 mph.   “Sweetheart you know you can speed up.”

“No way what if I hit something, or what if you start feeling sick from your concussion?  We aren’t in any hurry.”  You insist making no move to go any faster.

Bucky sighs and leans back in the chair, closing his eyes. “Wake me when we get to the door, by the time you get there it will be tomorrow.”

You let out an indignant huff and but pushed him a bit faster nonetheless.  When you finally were outside the front door, you move to stand in front of him offering your arm, so he can get out of the chair easily.  He raises an eyebrow at you and shakes his head biting his lip to hide his grin, fixing his face into a fake grimace he motions for you to lean closer. 

You instantly move closer to him with a worried expression, “Are you okay?  What do you need? Do you need me to go grab the doctor, I can-”

Your rambling is cut off by Bucky’s lips on yours, his hand holding your head in place, you kiss him back immediately, your hands grasping either side of his face.  Once he releases you, he gives you a heart melting grin, “I love ya but I’m big boy, I promise I’m okay.”

You nod at him and move so he can get out of the wheelchair, once he is up he wraps his right arm around your shoulders and leads you the black suv that Steve is standing in front of.  Giving him a smile you watched as Steve made to help Bucky in the car, only to have his hand slapped away by Bucky’s good arm. 

* * *

When you arrived at Bucky’s apartment, you ran ahead to open any doors in the way.  As Steve followed Bucky into the apartment you rambled on about making Bucky some cake pops as a welcome home gift. 

“Don’t spoil him Y/n, that’s the last thing this jerks ego needs.  Just make sure he does what the doctor says.  I gotta head to practice, call me or Peggy if he needs anything.”  

Bucky rolls his eyes, “He’s right here and can hear just fine, thank you very much.”

You both ignore Bucky and you bid Steve goodbye, “I’ll look after him Steve, I’ll call if we need anything.”

Once you had shut and locked the door behind Steve, you pull the directions and medicine from your purse that the doctor have given Bucky.  Looking over them carefully you make sure you didn’t forget anything, Bucky meanwhile wasn’t happy that you were ignoring him.  So he sighed, and sighed. Sighs that kept getting louder and more exaggerated. 

Finally you walk over to his worn couch that he had draped himself over, his right arm covering his face, “Is there something I can do for you, ya big whiner?”

“Come lay with me.”  Bucky moved his arm slightly peeking up at you, he watched as the fight you were having with yourself played out on your face. 

On one hand all you wanted was to curl up with Bucky on the couch and feel his arms around you again.  It was something you truly missed since he had been in the hospital, but you didn’t know that it was a good idea for you to be so close to his arm. 

“Come on Y/n, you won’t hit my arm, I promise.”  He gives you a pleading look that kills any reluctance you had.  Carefully inching up onto the couch you place yourself under his arm allowing him to wrap it around you.   

You gently reach and rub his left arm softly, you feel his lips graze against your temple, “I missed this.  I was so scared when I saw you go down and not get up”

“I was scared too.  What if my career was over?  All I know is hockey.  I’m just glad I’ll be able to play next season.  I’m can’t believe I got hurt so close to playoffs.”  You turn your body and move to look up at him, pressing your lips on his jaw for just a moment, before grabbing the remote and turning on the tv. 

As soon as the tv clicked to life, you couldn’t help the groan that escaped you, on the screen was none other than Grant Ward.  You made a move to turn the channel, but Bucky stops you.  He takes the remote from your hand and struggles to get in a sitting position.  Helping him up quickly, you adjust yourselves so that you’re sitting beside each other, Bucky’s hand finding yours. 

You read the ticker as it speeds across the screen watching as the host of the sports show speaks about how bad and illegal the trip on Bucky was.  You had known that the play was being reviewed by the league, but hadn’t heard what Ward’s punishment would be.

“Folks this was clearly an illegal play, Ward is a previous offender.  This isn’t his first rodeo, I don’t know about you Paul, but I think the league was completely right in suspending him for the rest of the season as well as pre-season next year.”

You let out a breath you hadn’t realized you had been holding and looked over to Bucky, you could see the relief on his face.  You knew Ward would be allowed back next season, but at least for this season he wouldn’t be hurting anyone else.   The announcers proceed to relay how much of Wards wages were going to be taken, before Bucky turned the channel to something else. 

“Welp looks like you won’t have to deal with Ward till next season.”  You lean your head on Bucky’s shoulder and you relish in the feel of each other.

“Yep…so sweetheart, since you’re my nurse, what’d ya say to a sponge bath?”  He gives you a devilish grin and wags his eyebrows at you.  Rolling your eyes, you stand from the couch and offer him your hand to help pull him up.  His grin seems to spread and he happily pulls you to the bathroom.


	14. Chapter 14

5 Months Later

“Ladies and gentleman, please direct your attention to the center of the arena, for the 2017 Stanley Cup champion banner raising!”  

You watched as your father walked the red carpet that had been placed from the locker room leading onto the ice at the center of the rink.  He looks up towards you giving you a wave.  You knew he was beyond happy. 

The boys had fought hard throughout the playoffs and even though Bucky had been done for the season he was still very much part of the team.  Your father had put him in the coaches box that sat to the side of his box.  Bucky was the Avenger’s eye in the sky.  He spent all the games leading up to the playoffs watching and helping refine plays, even helping coach.  

You father knew it was pointless to keep him from the game, the only thing he wanted more than playing hockey was you.   The two of you had become even more inseparable. Not only did you drive to the arena together, but had also moved into a new apartment together.  Bucky had assumed when he asked you to be his nurse in the hospital it meant you would move to his apartment.   You assumed that after you were done nursing him back to being healthy, he would move in with you.

After a large argument that ended with pizza and cake pops, the two of you started looking for a new apartment to buy together. 

The team, with the help of Bucky had won the Stanley Cup and all their hard work had paid off.  Now it was the start of the new season and they were ready more than ever to win the cup again.  Bucky had finally healed and was ready to play in his first game back.

You heard the roar of the crowd as your father announced each player of the team.  It was no surprise that Steve got the loudest cheers, but a close second was Bucky.  Bucky skated on the ice to stand by Steve waving his gloved hand to the crowd before looking toward your father’s box where he knew you stood.  He waved at you while you blew him a kiss, before turning and saying something to Steve. 

You once again found yourself in the hallway outside the locker room waiting for Bucky.  You had rode to the game together and the two of you were gonna grab some pizza from Vinny’s before heading home.   You hear the door click open and expect to see Bucky only for it to be Steve. 

He gives you a large smile and wraps his arm around your shoulders, “We played good today, didn’t we?  Bucky seems better than ever.  I’m giving you the credit for that.”

You laugh at him and give him a squeeze, “Don’t tell Bucky but I think your shot is a little more accurate than his this year.”

The delight that took over Steve’s face was immediate, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to your cheek as Bucky walked out of the locker room, “Don’t you have a pregnant wife you should be getting home to Rogers?”

You roll your eyes at Bucky and give Steve one last squeeze before releasing him, “How is Peggy?  Is she ready?”

“She’s more than ready to get this kid out of her.”  Steve’s phone lets off a loud ding, “That will be her, apparently she needs earl grey tea ice cream and pickles.”

Steve shudders before waving goodbye and making his way out of the area.  Bucky turns to you a slight pout on his face as he wraps his arms around you. “What’s with the pout? How’s your arm feeling, it doesn’t hurt does it?”

Bucky shakes his head pulling you close to him, “No my arm is fine, Roger’s has his own girl, I would prefer him keeping his hands off mine.”

You laugh at Bucky’s statement, you knew that he knew there were no romantic feelings between you and Steve, but you were please nonetheless that he still got a bit jealous.

“Let’s go home sweetheart, I gotta surprise for you.”  Bucky loved the way your eyes lit up with excitement and he could do nothing but laugh as you pulled him towards the exit and to his car. 

* * *

You arrive home Bucky carrying his bag and you carrying the pizza.  Bucky made his way to the guest room dropping his gear in there before returning to you in the kitchen.  You worked in silence, him preparing drinks while you put some pizza on plates for each of you. 

You both went to sit on the worn brown couch that held so many memories, both of you sat getting comfortable.   Bucky was jittery, well more jittery than normal for after the game.   After about five minutes of him tapping his leg and not eating his pizza you snapped. 

You set your pizza down on the coffee table and pull his plate out of his hands setting it beside yours. “Okay what’s going on?”

Bucky sat in silence for just a moment before blurting out, “I want to eat dessert now!”  

The volume and bluntness of his statement caught you off guard.  You give him a confused look and before you could say anything he was walking off towards the kitchen.  You look around the room looking for some sort of clue that caused his outburst.  Before you know it, he comes back into the room plopping on the couch as close to you as he could without sitting on your lap. 

He pushes his arm out towards you and held in his hand is a red heart shaped cake pop.  You gently reach out and take it from him, noticing his a pink heart.  You give him a bewildered look before you took a bite out of the cake pop.  Bucky made no move to eat his, instead focusing solely on you.  As you bit through the cake pop something hard hits your teeth.  

Pulling what felt like a stone out of your mouth, you look at your hand in shock.  In between your fingers was a stunning diamond ring.  You open and close your mouth a few times not quite knowing what to say. 

Bucky gently takes the ring from your fingers and wipes it was a napkin, before grasping your hand in his, gaining your attention. 

“Sweetheart, Y/n, I have loved you since I was six years old.  I may not have always known that I was in love with you, but I do now.  I won’t ever find anyone like you, and you’re the only one for me.  I have trophies, and cups, and medals and awards, and I make a lot of money.  But all that means nothing, if I can’t share it with the woman I love.  Marry me?”

You trying to think of some way to express just how happy you are, but no words are coming to you, you look at Bucky and the longer you go without speaking, the sadder his eyes become. 

You shake your head slightly, before holding your left hand out to him, “Think dad will let us get married at the arena?”

The whoop Bucky let out, had you laughing, tears of joy had started to fall, and Bucky pounced on you, pushing you back onto the couch smothering your face with kisses.  After what seemed like hours, Bucky finally pulled away from you, giving you one last kiss before handing you the pizza you had abandoned, giving you a bright smile. 

It was hours later, the two of you laying in bed, when Bucky turned to you, breathless after your recent activities, watching as you were once again admiring your ring, his body still entangled with yours, “This is so much better than winning the Stanley Cup.”


End file.
